Three Bridge Fiasco 2015 - Another Record Year!

by Erik Simonson on 4 Feb 2015 For the 2015 edition of the Single Handed Sailing Society's annual mid winter classic, The 3 Bridge Fiasco, 368 Registered short- handed sailors signed up. The early morning hours witnessed a strong northerly clearing out the tule fog which had be lingering for far too long, the stage was set for a possible record run in speed as well as entrants. The early birds, aka high raters were blessed with nice winds and the remnants of a flood which, for all intents and purposes, opened the door for the small boats to kick some ass.

The various forecasts were all over the place and even the most seasoned vets had trouble reading the tea leaves and deciding the best route for their particular boat and start time. For those who departed the GGYC starting line before 10:00 AM, the concept was to get either across the main bay before the ebb, or get Yerba Buena in the rear view while the wind was northerly. A great concept in practice, and it was working. For a while...

The counter clockwise crews had a very nice spinnaker ride toward the Bay Bridge and looked golden, hugging the west side of Treasure Island for relief until the breeze lightened, then went NW. The lucky who had not committed were blessed with more consistent wind mid channel, and wisely avoided much of Yerba Buena's wind shadow and eeked under the eastern span in good shape.

Meanwhile, the Clockwise contingent split between getting east as fast as possible or getting Blackaller off the check list. Those going for Blackaller early and many of the post 10:00 AM starters saw the breeze ease, and the ebb build. The later starters had trouble even getting to the starting line, as the VMG was less than the magic carpet ride to the Farallones. A large contingent found themselves being swept near to or past the Golden Gate. If not intimidating enough, the Vessel Traffic folk would broadcast a brief description of , vessel right of way and priority hierarchy, which the recreational sailor is at the bottom of, regardless if they could maneuver or not. Sometime the wind god's just like to mess with you.

Those who rode east, and got to the shores of the Bezerkely Flats and headed toward red rocks had a good game plan. But the boats with the low ratings had a hard time getting 'Up River' and they to, were left to decide on pulling the plug or toughing it out and hoping the westerlies filled. It was the 'Miracle Nooner' the saved the day as the westerly filled 10-12 knots and gave the bots hope that their race could be salvaged. And while logic said the shortest route from the North Tower to Red Rocks is Raccoon Strait, the pesky current and swirling winds can be detrimental.

Meanwhile, even the early starters who got east and into the general area of South Hampton Shoals, found the once abundant northerly get scarce and the currents more abundant. It was like being a yo-yo, more than a few crews explained. 'Gain some, lose some' was mantra of the day. We asked numerous boats if they were seeing any signs of the NW filling in and the answer seemed to be a unanimous 'negatory'.

The Miracle Nooner continued to build over the Central Bay, and with it, the masses all began to pile into the North Bay , and while flying their kites nicely, the VMG again could not easily overtake the still building ebb, and as you closed in on Red Rocks, the wind got even lighter. Advantage ultra-lights and multis.

Adrenaline, The D-Cat, Bill Erkelens ongoing project boat, rounded Red Rocks just after 2:00 PM, the first of their three waypoints, but with the westerly now increasing to the high teens in the slot, they were in great shape to leave the fleet behind as the reached in fine fashion to Treasure Island and then up the City Front to Blackaller before a glorious run down to take the first to Finish, the gun firing at 14:46:37, well ahead of the closest competitor, Michael Quinn, sailing David Albright's Moore 24 ,' Cal' which crossed the line at 15:17:29....

In all, the record warm temperatures with highs hitting the high 70's on the Bay made the 2015 3BF for all of the 354 starters ( just 14 DNS's) a pleasant afternoon. Of course it was far more pleasant for the 57 finishers, and probably eased the pain for those who were just short of the finish line when the race committee closed shop at the 19:00 cut off time.

Notable Numbers:
Largest number of finishers in a division: Nine in the DH Sportboat, won by Andrew Hura and Josh Butler on the modified Wylie Wabbit Run Wild in conditions which were very optimal for the boat that loves lighter winds! Read more here.

Sailing single handed, Dan Alverez on the JS9000 Jet Stream was one of two boats in the Single Handed Sportboat division, crossing the line at 18:22:07. Read about Daniels day: here.

Ian Matthew won the 29 boat strong DH 162 and over, which had but four finishers. Say Matt: My boat, 'Siento el Viento' is a C&C 29 (PHRF 174) so our start was at 9:32. The wind forecast showed the wind at Red Rock closing down at about noon, so we made that our first mark. Had to anchor for about 10 minutes but we were about the third to round it. After that it was a breeze to Treasure Island and to Blackaller. The wind shut down at Blackaller for about 10 minutes but came back to give us a great spinnaker finish at 4:19.

Great day out on the Bay!

Synthia Petroka was the sole finisher in the SH Spinnaker 162 and over division, sailing her Hawkfarm 28 Eyrie between the GGYC and the X buoy at 16:27:36

David Albright loaned his boat , the Moore 24, CAL out to friends Mike Quinn and Larry Nelson who sailed it to the fastest monohull finish, completing the 21 miler at 15:17:29. The Moores had 34 boats registered and 31 starters, as the 3BF is part of this year's Road Master.

The Moore's not only had the largest one design turnout but also the greatest number of finishers for a one design at 8
Dirk Husselmen's Beneteau First 30JK, TIJD won his division, the hotly contested SH PHRF 108 and under, which was loaded with shorthand masters, Dirk send his brief description:

TI first. Stayed close to the city to stay out of the current, which paid off. Close hauled to Red Rock which turned into a reach. Reached out to the left of Red Rock where there was a little more pressure.

After rounding Red Rock the current helped to get to Raccoon Straits, More pressure there. Sailing to Blackaller. Looked like a beat but got lifted all the way up to the mark. Spinnaker down to the finish.

Finish time: 5:49

The father and son team of Nick and Conner Gibbens won the Express 27 class which saw 19 starters, which is huge, as Will Paxton, the current fleet champion was sailing aboard his e-27 Motorcycle Irene and is always a threat to win.

The almost always shorthanded crew of Buzz Blackett and Jim Antrim on California condor were the first of 4 finishers in the big boy fleet in DH PHRF 108 and less, with 33 starters, with a 17:14:48 finish!

The DH PHRF 111-159 had 34 starters with but one beating the clock, the IOD Youngster sailed by Ron Young!

The Double Handed Multi's had the largest percentage of finishers collectively, with 20 starters in two fleets, there were 12 that stuck it out, with the before mentioned Adrenaline, Bill Erkelens Sr's D Cat, winning the entire race and DH Multihull 0 and Darren Doud claiming honors aboard his Coarsair 31 Tri Roshambo!